How to Create a Movement

Julie Queler
Sep 7, 2018 · 3 min read
How to create a movement

Have you ever had something happen to you or seen something happen to someone else that made you just want to stand up and do something about it?

It might be something small like a parent yelling at their child in a grocery store or something big like seeing a friend get buried under their student loan debt. No matter what the size, sometimes we see something that makes us spring into action.

It might feel overwhelming at first, but sometimes the smallest ripples create the biggest movements. Think about things like the Civil Rights Movement, women getting the right to vote, or any of the dozens of marches that have happened in the last two years. Those all started with a single person saying “You know what, enough is enough.”

Starting a movement might seem like a huge undertaking, especially if you want it to be something national or even global. But here’s the secret to how to start a movement: all you have to do is start.

That’s right. Just begin

The biggest movements started with someone being brave enough to take the first step. I know it might seem overly simple and maybe even a little scary, but if you are truly so passionate about something that you want to do something about it, you need to just start doing something.

It’s okay if you don’t have a full plan. It’s also okay if you don’t really know what your path is. The trick is that you start doing something and then start telling people about it. Charismatic people who are excited about something are contagious. If you are so excited about something, it’s hard for other people to not be excited about it too.

Once you decide to start and then start telling people about it, you might be surprised at how fast things start to take off, but you have to keep hustling. Don’t stop working towards your goal. Plan meetings, get people on board, write about it, post on social media about it, start a website, get social media pages up and more.

The more legitimate you make you movement, the more likely you are to start to see it take off. While it may sound overwhelming at first, you will be surprised at how fast things start to move along after you take the initial step. Once you start, the momentum of what you have created will start to pull you forward.

You might get discouraged along the way. Someone might tell you that what you are trying to do is silly or that you will never be able to change anything. While it is hard to hear those things, let them fuel you. Turn the negativity into positive energy for change.

Every time someone tells you that it will never work, take that chance to tell them all the reasons it will work. Not only does this help you tamp down the negative energy, it also gives you a chance to be reminded about what and why you are trying to change what you are trying to change.

Bottom line, if you are passionate about it enough to create something to change the status quo, you can create any kind of movement you want.

Julie Queler

Written by

I believe that compassion and empathy for others must begin within oneself.

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